Authority

Recently, I received a pithy pearl of pragmatic coaching from Marjorie Melzer.  Marjorie and I were discussing the topic of accepting critical feedback, and my discomfort over the years with authority figures.   Marjorie challenged me to do some mindstorming and journaling about the subject--which I did.  She also encouraged me to look for the “gift (s)” that that authority had to offer--I found several.

Since my primary value in life is freedom/liberty I am often, skeptical, critical, and even a bit irreverent about institutionalized power.  So, I did a little research.  It turns out that the word authority is derived from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command.  In philosophy, authority refers to a claim of legitimacy, or the justification and right to exercise power.  

The results of this research were insightful. The “advice and influence” aspects of authority gave me a new perspective.  These were the gifts that I found through the mindstorming/journaling exercise.  The legitimate exercise of power also resonated with me.  In my own circumstances, it is no small irony that I exercise parental authority within the family, as well as informal/formal authority of leadership in my small team at Princeton.

What I discovered through through exercise is that gifts often far exceeded the discomfort.  That said, in a free society a strong dose of skepticism about the exercise of institutionalized power is healthy.  I’ll tone down the irreverence.